Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling Commission: National Institute of Economic and Social Research

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the reasons for which the the Gambling Commission contracted with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research to research the costs and benefits of gambling, with a focus on gambling-related harm; and what the cost of that contract was to the Gambling Commission.

Stuart Andrew: I apologise for the delay in responding to this question.The Gambling Commission did not sign a contract with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NiESR). In this case, NiESR was a recipient of £140,050 in regulatory settlement funding.Regulatory settlements are a possible outcome of Gambling Commission enforcement action and may include a financial amount paid by the operator for socially responsible purposes which address gambling-related harms. The Commission does not take possession of regulatory settlement funds at any time and the money is paid directly from the operator(s) to the organisation delivering the approved project.More information on this process and the destinations of regulatory settlement funding is available at the Commission’s website.

Gambling Commission

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the Gambling Commission's adherence to the Regulators Code; and how many discussions have Ministers or officials in her Department had with the Gambling Commission on their requirements under the Regulators Code in each of the last three years.

Stuart Andrew: As the sponsoring department of the Gambling Commission, we engage regularly to discuss their performance in line with relevant Cabinet Office guidance.It is the responsibility of regulators to ensure that the Regulators’ Code is reflected appropriately in their own policy and procedures. The Commission’s statement of principles for licensing and regulation outlines the general principles it will apply in exercising its functions under the Gambling Act 2005. These principles were formulated with a view to ensuring that the Commission regulates gambling in line with the Regulators’ Code in a supportive, straightforward, risk based, and transparent manner.

Gambling

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with (a) the gambling industry, (b) gambling campaigners and campaign groups and (c) users of gambling services in each of the last 3 years.

Stuart Andrew: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of gambling stakeholders, including industry and charity representatives, to hear their views on the sector and discuss areas of concern. These meetings are continuing following the publication of the white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005.All ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK and can be accessed on the website.

World Heritage Sites

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support sites on the UNESCO World Heritage Site tentative list.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will issue guidance for cities on the UNESCO World Heritage Site tentative list on how they can ensure that any (a) planning and (b) development they undertake is consistent with UNESCO World Heritage Site rules.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is actively engaging with all the five new sites on the UK's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. We are also coordinating engagement between the sites and HM Government's expert advisers on cultural and natural heritage. This is to ensure that all sites receive the advice and support they need, including guidance on planning and development where required.

Gambling: Digital Technology

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to implement the  policies in the white paper entitled High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age, published on 27 April 2023.

Stuart Andrew: Our white paper set out a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new player protection checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to consumer redress and a statutory levy on operators to fund research, education and treatment.We are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The Government will publish a number of targeted consultations this summer, with the Commission also consulting on a number of priority areas.

Football: Disability

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the 3 pm football blackout on disabled people who lack the mobility to watch games live.

Stuart Andrew: The Government does not have a role in the application of the broadcast blackout at 3pm on Saturday for football in England, and this rule arises from Article 48 of the Union of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) statutes.The Government expects all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligation under the Equality Act of 2010, including making reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when accessing sports venues. With the support of Level Playing Field, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) developed the Accessible Stadia document and Accessible Stadia Supplementary Guidance as a benchmark of good practice for new and existing sports grounds. It offers practical, clear solutions that will help deliver high-quality grounds with facilities and services that are accessible, inclusive and welcoming for all.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her Department's policy to ban all avoidable uses of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances.

Rebecca Pow: In the first UK REACH Work Programme, Defra asked the EA and HSE to develop a 'Regulatory Management Options Analysis' (RMOA), in order to assess PFAS uses, exposure routes, and risk management actions specific to Great Britain in an evidence-based and proportionate way. The RMOA took a grouping approach, to avoid regrettable substitution.The RMOA was published in Spring 2023. It made recommendations for risk management measures, building on the commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to tackle chemicals of concern. We welcomed the publication, which represents a significant milestone in the UK’s efforts to protect people and the environment from the potential impacts of PFAS.We have accepted the RMOA’s recommendations. These include reducing PFAS emissions by developing UK REACH restrictions, beginning with a restriction on PFAS in fire-fighting foams, and exploring further restrictions covering a wide range of industrial and consumer uses. We will share further details in upcoming UK REACH Work Programmes and the Chemicals Strategy.

Department for Business and Trade

Products: EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many former EU product regulations apply in the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We do not hold information on the breakdown of the exact number of pieces of former EU product regulation that apply in the UK. The publicly available dashboard contains all of the relevant REUL. However, the relevant information cannot be readily or accurately ascertained and would encounter disproportionate costs to produce. Departments are assessing how best to reform this REUL using the powers in the REUL Bill.

Surface Engineering: Energy

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support the surface engineering sector with energy costs.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Businesses, including the surface engineering sector, have already benefitted from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which ended on 31 March 2023 and provided £7 billion of support. Businesses will continue to get a discount on gas and electricity bills under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), until 31 March 2024.Under the EBDS, non-domestic customers who have a contract with a licensed energy supplier will see a baseline discount of up to £6.97/MWh automatically applied to their gas bill and up to £19.61/MWh to their electricity bill.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will commission research into the potential benefits to the economy of cannabinoid-based products for medicinal use; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: The department has no plans to assess the impact of the medical cannabis industry on the economy. Data is annually published on the impact on the economy and employment of the wider Life Sciences sector in the Bioscience and health technology sector statistics. This includes analysis of the bio-pharmaceuticals sector of which the medical cannabis industry is a subsector.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the growth potential for the cannabinoid-based medicines industry; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: No assessment has been made on the growth potential for the cannabinoid-based medicine industry which also creates opportunities for the agri-tech sector. The department will continue to deliver against the priority sub-sectors outlined in the Life Science Vision, through our role in pursuing and landing inward investment, enabling exports, attracting global talent and capital, and leading on trade policy and defending free trade.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of exporting medical cannabis on the UK economy; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: Life Sciences is one the UK’s top exporting sectors, with exports valued at £28.1 billion in 2022. No assessment has currently been made by the department of the impact of exporting medicinal cannabis on the UK economy. The department supports UK manufacturers of medical cannabis who have obtained a controlled drug licence from the Home Office and relevant licences from MHRA; and where the use of medicinal cannabis is both (a) legal in the destination market and (b) only for medical or scientific purposes.

Economic Partnership Agreements: South Africa

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on the operation of the Southern African Customs Union-UK economic partnership agreement; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: When the Department for Business and Trade assesses the impact of UK trade deals, it assesses the marginal impact of a new free trade agreement on the UK economy and on our trade relationships overall. As such, we do not conduct explicit analysis on the impact of UK new trade agreements on all the existing trade agreements of UK trading partners However, while we have not specifically analysed this, there is no reason to expect the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership to impact the operation of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the UK and Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Member States and Mozambique.

Department for Business and Trade and Department for International Trade: Public Speaking

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information her Department holds on how many external speakers were blocked from speaking at events hosted by (a) her Department and (b) the Department for International Trade after a review of their social media activity.

Nigel Huddleston: Please refer to the answer given to Question 187366.

Department for Business and Trade: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Civil Service headquarters occupancy data, updated on 1 June 2022, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of occupancy rates on her Department's performance during May 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: There is no single source of data or metric available that can provide a direct assessment of occupancy rates in HQ buildings against Departmental performance.

United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she will be conducting a post-implementation review of the UK Internal Market Act 2020.

Nigel Huddleston: As set out in legislation, we will conduct a review of certain aspects of the UK Internal Market Act 2020 within the two year period starting at the end of 2023.

Hospitality Industry

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with (a) representatives and (b) trade bodies from the hospitality sector on potential challenges facing the hospitality sector.

Kevin Hollinrake: We meet regularly with representatives and trade bodies from the hospitality sector and have convened a Hospitality Sector Council to deliver the 2021 Hospitality Strategy, with the aim of building the sector’s long-term resilience. A Delivery Report showing progress made was published in March. The Council is scheduled to meet next in July.

Department for Transport

Aviation: Disability

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has had made of the adequacy of the treatment of disabled people by airline companies.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Rights on Flights campaign.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the ease of disabled people using air transport.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing fines for airlines that mistreat disabled people.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport published the Aviation Consumer Policy Reform Consultation in 2022 to seek views on consumer rights issues, including additional powers for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to enforce rights such as the power to fine, and reforms to the compensation available for damage to wheelchairs and mobility aids on domestic UK flights. It also looked at whether there are any other reforms that could be considered to assist passengers with accessibility needs. Responses are being analysed and next steps will be set out in due course. The Department regularly meets with interest and campaign groups and welcomes their input in improving the consumer rights framework. Departmental officials also meet regularly with the CAA to discuss consumer issues, including accessibility, and the Department and the CAA have written to the industry, including all major airlines and UK airports, to set clear expectations on support for disabled and less mobile passengers. The CAA is responsible for enforcing consumer laws, including those relating to accessibility. It monitors airport accessibility performance annually against its performance framework and will publish its usual report this summer. The CAA published an additional interim report in December 2022, highlighting areas of good practice as well as airports requiring improvement. It has also published a consultation on a performance framework for airlines.

Roads: Litter

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department monitors the performance of Highways England on verge (a) maintenance and (b) litter collection.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways is committed to reporting its litter performance annually to the Department and to the Highways Monitor as part of the second Road Investment Strategy performance specification. National Highways reports the percentage of the Strategic Road Network which is predominately free of litter, refuse or detritus apart from some small items, in line with the Code of practice on litter and refuse published by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. For 2021/22 National Highways reported that 60.8% of its network met the above definition, this was an improvement from 49.2% reported for 2020/21. The performance for 2022/23 will be published later this summer. The performance specification does not cover verge maintenance specifically. However, National Highways carry out inspection and maintenance requirements adhering to standards covered in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) availability of charging infrastructure to help the public transition to electric vehicles.

Jesse Norman: In 2022 the Government published its electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure strategy setting out its plan to accelerate the rollout of a world-class EV charging network.  The majority of EV drivers charge at home and the Government expects this to continue, but a reliable public chargepoint network will be needed to support drivers making long distance journeys and those without off-street parking. A diverse mix of chargepoints will be needed across the UK, not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Local chargepoint planning is an essential part of the strategy. By 2030, the Department estimates that 300,000 public chargepoints will be needed as a minimum, the majority of which will be market-led. ChargeUK members have publicly committed to investing more than £6 billion in charging infrastructure before 2030. To date the Government and industry have supported the installation of over 42,000 publicly available charging devices including more than 7,800 rapid devices. There has been a 35% increase over the last 12 months (May 2022 – May 2023).

Ministry of Defence

Warships: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2022 to Question 31751 on Warships: Procurement, how much his Department spent on plans to convert a Bay class support ship before those plans were changed.

James Cartlidge: The life extension of RFA ARGUS was the measure taken in preference of the capability upgrade to the Landing Ship Docking (Auxiliary) (LSDA) class. Therefore, apart from the routine work performed by Ministry of Defence Agencies to assess the work required, no money was spent on plans to upgrade the LSDA. The project to replace and/or upgrade the equipment required for the life extension will be £75,000.

Ministry of Defence: Artificial Intelligence

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.

James Cartlidge: The Defence Safety Authority is an independent Regulator and Investigator for Health, Safety and Environmental Protection in Defence. At present there are no specific Defence regulations regarding AI, thereby mirroring the statutory position. However, Defence Regulators recognise the clear need for a cohesive, proportionate approach to AI regulation that enables the responsible application of this technology to flourish.. There are no dedicated posts regarding AI at this time, but preparatory activity is being undertaken within existing innovation and emerging technology work-strands across the organisation.

Minesweepers: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department has allocated for Block (a) One and (b) Two of the Mine Hunting Capability.

James Cartlidge: The current estimated funding requirement for the procurement of Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Block One is £330 million and this funding has been allocated.The procurement of MHC Block 2 is at a commercially sensitive point in the acquisition cycle and the estimated value cannot currently be disclosed.

Guided Weapons: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what requirement his Department has set for the number of M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems; and what proportion of that requirement his Department allocated funding has for.

James Cartlidge: I will write to the right hon. Member shortly to answer his questions, and will place a copy of my response in the Library of the House.

Hercules Aircraft: Decommissioning

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he consulted the Director of Special Forces prior to his decision to retire the C130J Hercules.

James Heappey: The decision to retire the C-130J Hercules was taken in the Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper. All the Single Services and UK Strategic Command were full stakeholders in those reviews.

F-35 Aircraft: Crew

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF pilots are trained to fly F-35s.

James Heappey: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. However, we continue to graduate pilots into the Lightning Force, and at a sufficient rate to support current Force growth.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2022 to Question 156382 on Ministry of Defence: Staff, whether his Department has revised the estimated number of civil personnel.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The latest Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian staff indicative planned full-time equivalent figures, rounded to the nearest ten, are in the table below. These figures will be revised following the publication of the refreshed Defence Command Paper which will outline our Departmental strategic intent following the refresh of the Integrated Review. Updated workforce plans will be an early deliverable as we move to implement the refreshed Defence Command Paper. As such, it should be noted that these are indicative numbers are used for planning purposes, they are not a target, and represent business decisions subject to ongoing variation. It should also be noted these figures represent only one part of MOD's workforce and actual figures may be impacted by changes to the size and shape of other workforce types such as contractors, military staff etc. Financial Year2023-242024-25Projected civilian staff60,76060,920

A400M Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the annual cost to the public purse of maintaining the A400M in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

James Cartlidge: The cost of the supporting the A400M Atlas fleet covering the period between 2020 and 2022 is set out by financial year (FY) below. FY2019-20FY2020-21FY2021-22FY2022-23£110 million£118 million£110 million£168 million

Hercules Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the annual cost to the public purse of maintaining the C130J Hercules in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

James Cartlidge: The cost of the Hercules Integrated Operational Support arrangement covering the period between 2020 and 2022 is set out by financial year below. 2019-202020-212021-222022-23£77.730 million£92.353 million£85.439 million£80.185 million

Marines: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the estimated requirement of funding is for the Future Commando Force Block (a) One, (b) Two, (c) Three and (d) Four.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department has allocated for Block (a) One, (b) Two, (c) Three and (d) Four.

James Cartlidge: The Future Commando Force programme will be delivered in two investment increments, called OPERATE and FIGHT.OPERATE will deliver a transformation of 3 Commando Brigade's operational capability on land, and includes investment in their Future All-Terrain Vehicle. It will also introduce new small and medium assault boats. This element is funded and has a total value of £941 million. This is in line with what is needed to deliver the increment.FIGHT will deliver the additional capabilities that are required to conduct ship-to-shore operations in a contested maritime environment - notably utility assault craft, decoy and strike systems. Financial provision for this increment will be considered within IR25 investment decisions. Costs are currently forecast at approximately £700 million but are subject to change.

Minesweepers: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the estimated requirement is of funding for the Mine Hunting Capability Block (a) One and (b) Two.

James Cartlidge: The current estimated funding requirement for the procurement of Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Block One is £330 million and this funding has been allocated.The procurement of MHC Block 2 is at a commercially sensitive point in the acquisition cycle and the estimated value cannot currently be disclosed.

A400M Aircraft: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what requirement his Department has set for the number of A400M transport planes; and what proportion of that requirement his Department has allocated funding for.

James Cartlidge: 22 Atlas A400M airframes have been delivered, all of which have been funded.

Boxer Vehicles: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what requirement his Department has set for the number of Boxer armoured vehicles; and what proportion of that requirement his Department has allocated funding for.

James Cartlidge: The Department has allocated funding for 1,016 Boxer Mechanised Infantry vehicles against a Land Fleet Requirement of 1,305. These numbers will be kept under review in line with the Integrated Review and forthcoming Defence Command Paper Refresh.

Type 83 Destroyers

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the expected (a) procurement cost and (b) whole life cost of the Type 83 destroyer programme.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department has allocated to the Type 83 destroyer programme.

James Cartlidge: The Type 83/Future Air Dominance System programme remains in the pre-concept phase and has not yet reached the level of maturity for budget allocation. It is the intent of the Department that the programme and procurement strategy will be decided following the concept phase. The concept phase will determine the procurement and whole life costs of the programme.Defence Equipment and Support have been allocated overall funding to develop various concepts on multiple projects. It is therefore difficult to delineate precise costs, particularly as Type 83 is pre-concept, but workforce related funding estimated to be less than £1 million has been allocated to the Type 83/FADs programme to date.

Landing Ship Dock Auxiliary

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the expected (a) procurement cost and (b) whole life cost of the Enabling Landing Dock Auxiliary.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding has his Department allocated to the Enabling Landing Dock Auxiliary.

James Cartlidge: The Landing Dock Auxiliary replacement will be procured as a part of the Multi-Role Support Ship programme and therefore I refer the right hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 13 June 2023 to Question 188468.

A400M Aircraft: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to order more A400M aircraft.

James Cartlidge: The RAF has a fleet of 22 Atlas A400M aircraft and, as yet, no additional aircraft have been ordered.

F-35 Aircraft: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 19 May 2022 to Question 1104, whether his Department still plans to purchase more F-35 aircraft.

James Cartlidge: 48 F-35B Lightning aircraft are on contract, and the UK has funded plans to increase the fleet to 74 aircraft with its Tranche 2 procurement. We will make decisions on further purchases beyond the 74 around the middle of the decade.

Apache AH-64 Helicopters

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Defence in a Competitive Age, published by his Department in March 2021, whether he expects the AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters to be upgraded by 2025.

James Cartlidge: The Attack Helicopter Capability Sustainment Programme is delivering 50 of the latest Version 6 Apache AH-64E aircraft, through a re-manufacture programme of the Apache AH Mark 1, via a Foreign Military Sale from the US Government.Initial Operating Capability was declared in May 2023, with the programme currently on schedule to achieve Full Operating Capability in January 2026.

Tanks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) procurement and (b) whole life cost is of the Armour Main Battle Tank 2025 programme.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) procurement cost and (b) whole life cost is of the Mechanised Infantry programme.

James Cartlidge: We do not routinely release forecast figures regarding the resource and capital expenditure of our major projects. Portfolio data is published annually in support of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Annual Report which includes a budget baseline and the latest HM Treasury approved estimates in respect of whole life costs.The current report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infrastructure-and-projects-authority-annual-report-2022

F-35 Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many F-35 aircraft are in operational service with the RAF.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many A400M aircraft the Royal Air Force has in operational service.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many C-17 aircraft are in operational service for the RAF.

James Cartlidge: The number of aircraft currently in service by fleet is given in the table below: FleetAircraft NumbersF-35B Lightning32Atlas A400M22Globemaster C-178

AUKUS

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of pillar two of the Australia – United Kingdom – United States (AUKUS) partnership.

James Cartlidge: Good progress is being made on the trilateral development of quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) and Autonomy, cyber, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, and electronic warfare capabilities, supported by two enabling workstreams covering innovation and information sharing.In April, the first AUKUS AI and autonomy trial was held in the UK. This saw the initial joint deployment of Australian, UK, and US AI-enabled assets in a collaborative swarm to detect and track military targets in a representative environment in real time. This trial demonstrated the military advantage of AUKUS advanced capabilities.

Department of Health and Social Care

Neurology: Patients

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to establish a taskforce to consider issues faced by people with neurological conditions; and if he will meet with representatives from the Neurological Alliance to discuss the potential merits of creating this taskforce.

Helen Whately: The Department received the petition calling for the establishment of a neurological taskforce from the Neurological Alliance and other stakeholders in June 2023. We are considering that petition. Policy colleagues regularly meet with the Neurological Alliance and have worked closely together to develop an Acquired Brain Injury Strategy, due to be published later this year.

Dementia: Research

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the director of UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University on treatments for Dementia.

Helen Whately: There have been no recent discussions with the Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University on treatments for Dementia.On 17 May we published a call for evidence giving the public, charities, patient groups and other stakeholders an opportunity to inform the Major Conditions Strategy, helping to build consensus on what actions need to be prioritised. We would welcome contributions from the UK Dementia Research Institute and others on the subject of treatments for dementia. The call for evidence can be found at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/consultations/major-conditions-strategy-call-for-evidence

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Artificial Intelligence

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.

Alex Burghart: The AI White Paper emphasised the importance of ensuring that UK regulators and public bodies have the capacity, expertise, and capabilities to implement government’s pro-innovation approach whilst recognising and understanding the risks. This is particularly true for those regulators for which AI falls squarely within their regulatory remit, but also applies to a much wider range of public and regulatory bodies considering the implications AI has across the economy. The Cabinet Office ALBs include 3 bodies that are either formally or informally classified as regulators: The Civil Service Commission: The CSC are often referred to as a ‘regulator’ of recruitment into the Civil Service but undertake assurance/compliance work in respect of civil service recruitment only and are out of scope. The UK Statistics Authority includes the Office of Statistics Regulation who set the statutory Code of Practice for Statistics and assess compliance with the Code. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) utilises a regulator on a 0.33 FTE basis for their work providing guidance on how the principles in the Code of Practice for Statistics can help in designing, developing and using models to improve their trustworthiness, quality and value. Their guidance covers both traditional statistical techniques, such as linear regressions, and newer techniques, like machine learning, when they are used to create outputs that inform decision making or public policy. The OSR also regularly engages with other regulators on this topic through the attendance of workshops and working groups to ensure they remain aware and responsive to any developments in this space. The OSR does not plan to increase the time allocated to these issues. The promotion of the Code of Practice for Statistics into new areas of statistical analysis and data use has been a long-standing area of focus for the next year, and will continue to be, including in relation to AI (e.g. large language models). The Equalities and Human Rights Commission: the Equalities Hub have provided a separate response on this PQ (188555) via the Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, Minister for Equalities. As part of the AI regulation White Paper consultation, we are engaging closely with regulators across the wider landscape and their sponsoring government departments to understand the organisational capacity they need to regulate AI effectively, across technical, regulatory, and market-specific expertise. This will inform our work to develop policy options with a view to addressing any gaps that emerge.

Palace of Westminster: Sewage

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many sewage leaks were recorded within the estate managed by Government Property Agency in the last twelve months.

Alex Burghart: The Government Property Agency currently operates in c.230 different sites across the UK. There have been 4 small scale sewage leaks within the Agency’s estate within the last 12 months. 2 in York and 2 in London due to exceptionally heavy rainfall. These were also referenced in PQs 186466/186468.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: Aviation

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the purpose was of official business on account of which the Cabinet Office spent £1,946.30 on air travel on 18 October 2022 for the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at that time.

Jeremy Quin: This relates to Ministerial air travel, on government business. Such costs are standard practice under multiple administrations, both Conservative and Labour.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Information Commissioner’s Office: Complaints

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of complaints made to the Information Commissioner’s Office met the threshold for action in each year since 2019.

Sir John Whittingdale: The ICO has provided figures for 2021, 2022 and 2023 where the data is held, related to both data protection and Freedom of Information complaints cases. Due to the ICO’s retention and disposal policy, casework data prior to 2021 is no longer held.You may wish to note that further information on complaints cases and outcomes dating back to 2016/2017 is available in the ICO’s Annual Reports which can be found here. Data Protection Complaints  2021%2022%2023%Informal Action Taken1611837.631309133.96635137.51Investigation Pursued130.0390.0270.04No Further Action2669162.3225440661057062.43Regulatory Action60.0160.0230.02Total42,828 38,546 16,931  Freedom of Information Complaints(these include Environmental Information Regulation cases)  2021%2022%2023%Informal Action Taken79614.0697114.6948613.80No Further Action352462.23336550.92167947.66Decision Notice Served134323.72227334.39135838.55Total5663 6609 3523

Life Sciences: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support the life sciences sector in Scotland.

George Freeman: On 26 May we announced a raft of measures to support the life sciences sector across the UK. This includes a new Biomanufacturing Fund, open to companies across the UK, and measures to improve the underlying business environment such as through pro-innovation review of technologies (life sciences), which will give industry and investors the certainty they need to drive innovation, investment and growth. We will ensure the sector has the finance it needs to grow through our Life Sciences Investment Envoy, Dan Mahony, and the Long-term Investment For Technology and Science (LIFTS) initiative, bolstering investment in companies across the UK.

Science and Technology: North East

Liz Twist: What steps she is taking to support the commercialisation of science and technology research in the North East.

George Freeman: Innovation in the North East is supported by significant public investment. For example, universities in the region received £12 million this year through the Higher Education Innovation Fund, and six received a further £5 million from the Connecting Capability Fund to help spinout their research. We have also invested £5 million in the North East Technology Park to attract more science and technology companies, and the North East hosts Catapult centres that de-risk the transition from research to commercialisation, including the Offshore Renewable Catapult (Blyth), the Digital Catapult (Sunderland) and the Satellite Applications Catapult (County Durham).

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Pakistan: Democracy

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Government of Pakistan on the upholding of democratic processes.

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential international impact of the (a) political situation in Pakistan and (b) treatment of the former Prime Minister, Imran Khan.

Leo Docherty: The UK has a longstanding and close relationship with Pakistan. We are aware of the arrest of Imran Khan on 9 May and his subsequent release. We continue to monitor the situation closely. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, spoke to the High Commissioner for Pakistan to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, on 9 May and to Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, on 10 and 13 May, where he emphasised the importance of peaceful democratic rights, including the right to protest, adherence to the rule of law, and transparency in legal processes.

Home Office

Travel Requirements: Applications

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the administration cost to her Department for each Electronic Travel Authorisation application.

Robert Jenrick: On 6 June, I set in a Written Ministerial Statement (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-06-06/hcws821(opens in a new tab)), that the proposed fee for an ETA application is £10.00. This is set at a level that will cover the costs of administering the system and is competitive compared with similar international schemes by international partners.It is the government’s policy that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.The estimated cost of administering each ETA application will be published when the ETA fee is formally set in the Immigration and Nationality Fees Regulations in Autumn 2023.

Visas: Ukraine

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it remains her policy not to charge visa fees for Ukrainians visiting family members in the UK.

Robert Jenrick: In response to Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the UK Government created three bespoke Ukraine Schemes offering 36 months’ temporary sanctuary in the UK. These schemes are free to apply for and have no restriction to rights, access to benefits or services and have a health surcharge waiver. The Standard Visitor route is for anyone wanting to visit the UK for a temporary period, usually up to 6 months, for purposes such as tourism and visiting family and friends, with a fee charged.

Overseas Students: Sponsorship

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to consult with (a) institutions supported by the Student premium customer service for sponsors and (b) hon. Members with institutions supported by the Student premium customer service for sponsors in their constituencies on the proposed disbanding of the premium customer services team.

Robert Jenrick: The review of the charged service offering provided by the Study Premium Customer Service team was initiated in response to extensive feedback from educational institutions and sector representative bodies on the services available. We have commenced a programme of engagement on this matter with existing subscribers of the service and education sector groups including The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), Million Plus and Universities UK.

Asylum: Applications

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) prioritise applications for asylum and (b) reduce waiting times for those applications.

Robert Jenrick: To accelerate decision making we are streamlining and modernising the end-to-end process, with improved guidance, enhancing use of digital technology, and introducing more efficient ways to handling claims. We have already doubled our decision makers over the last 2 years, and we are continuing to recruit more. This will take our expected number of decision makers to 1,800 by this summer and 2,500 by September 2023. We are making good progress and, as of the end of May 2023 (based on provisional data), the legacy backlog has reduced by over 17,000 cases since the end of November 2022.

Refugees: Consumer Goods

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department provides basic toiletries as standard to refugees in her Department's care.

Robert Jenrick: Basic toiletries are considered an essential need for asylum seekers in receipt of asylum support. These are either provided directly by our accommodation providers under the AASC contract, or individuals can purchase the items with their weekly subsistence rate, which is currently £45 for those in self-catered or dispersal accommodation. Part of this allowance is intended for toiletries.

Home Office: Artificial Intelligence

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.

Chris Philp: The AI Regulation White Paper sets out principles to guide responsible development and use of AI in all sectors of the economy, while highlighting the importance of regulators’ expertise to tailor their implementation to the specific context in which AI is used.Due to difficulties in being able to disaggregate resource allocation specifically for ‘artificial intelligence’ work, we are not able to provide the figures requested on activity on AI regulation.We will engage with regulators across the Home Office sector to understand the organisational capacity and resources needed for them to carry out this work effectively and in line with the approach set out in the White Paper.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Fuels: Prices

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of potential trends in the cost of (a) petrol and (b) diesel in the next 12 months.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not forecast petrol and diesel prices. The Department does monitor trends in the global crude oil and related product markets.

Heating: Smart Devices

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps to encourage the installation of smart-enabled hot water cylinders.

Graham Stuart: The Government intends to introduce a smart mandate, which will require heat pumps, storage heaters and heat batteries to have smart functionality, from the mid-2020s. The Government is considering whether to extend the scope of the mandate to include other appliances, such as hot water cylinders. The Government is also seeking to improve standards regarding hot water cylinder efficiency and has sought feedback on possible options for achieving this in the recent consultation “Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency.”

Heat Pumps: Reviews

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the report on the outcomes heat pump review.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what policy measures he plans to include in the scope of the heat pump review.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to Question 151 at the Lords Science and Technology Committee on 16 May 2023, whether the research commissioned by his Department into noise pollution generated by heat pumps will make an assessment of the potential for hydrogen boilers to provide a green solution to home heating with lower levels of noise pollution than heat pumps.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the guidance his Department provides on heat sources takes into account the noise pollution levels of those heat sources.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has commissioned an independent review of heat pump noise emissions. This will determine whether existing permitted development rights are appropriate and in line with advances in heat pump technology. The review will likely conclude in the Autumn and the Government will then consider this evidence to determine whether changes to planning guidance and permitted development rights are warranted. The review does not consider hydrogen boilers, as any noise emissions from them, should they be rolled out, would be largely confined to inside the home, and therefore would not impact permitted development rights.

Heating: Housing

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will provide a list of research projects commissioned by her Department on home heating.

Graham Stuart: A list of research projects, recently commissioned by the Department is attached. The list contains links to published research and a list of other commissioned research. All projects have some relation to home heating but may not be the sole focus of the research.List of commissioned research projects  (docx, 45.3KB)

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made as to the adequacy of the performance of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme since its introduction.

Graham Stuart: Up to the end of April 2023 the Boiler Upgrade Scheme received 17,001 voucher applications and paid out on 10,847 to the cost of £54.5 million. Industry has reacted positively to the scheme during its first year, with suppliers developing competitive offers alongside the grant. Government announced that the BUS will be extended until 2028, with an additional budget allocation for each year.

Heat Pumps

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the report from the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council entitled Skills, Training and the Future of Heat, published in January 2023, whether his Department has conducted any further research into the conclusion that the industry will need 150,000 trained installers to meet this Government target of 600,000 heat pumps by 2028.

Graham Stuart: The Government notes that different industry organisations have varying estimates for the number of heat pump installers needed by 2028, with the Heat Pump Association estimating this to be 33,700. The Government is taking steps to ensure that there will be sufficient installers to meet demand through schemes such as the Heat Training Grant as well as the Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship.

Heating: Smart Devices

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to encourage the installation of smart-enabled hot water cylinders.

Graham Stuart: The Government intends to introduce a smart mandate, which will require heat pumps, storage heaters and heat batteries to have smart functionality, from the mid 2020s. The Government is also considering whether to extend the scope of the mandate to include other appliances, such as hot water cylinders. The Government is also seeking to improve standards regarding hot water cylinder efficiency and has sought feedback on possible options for achieving this in the recent consultation “Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency.”

Energy Bills Rebate

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2023 to Question 151412 on Energy Bills Rebate, what progress his Department has made on providing energy cost support to travellers and itinerant liveaboard boaters.

Amanda Solloway: Officials are still working to determine if there is a robust method for travellers and itinerant liveaboard boaters to provide proof that their caravan or boat is their main or sole residence, whilst protecting public funds. The Government is working to resolve this issue and will communicate this decision with key stakeholder associations who represent these households when it has been made.

Energy Bills Rebate: Boats

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of including boaters without permanent moorings in the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding scheme.

Amanda Solloway: To protect public funds against potentially fraudulent activity, we required applicants to show proof of address, such as a tenancy agreement or a utility bill. We understand that boaters without permanent moorings may not have been able to provide this evidence, which means they were not able to apply for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding. Officials are still working to determine if there is a robust method for boaters without permanent moorings to provide proof that their boat is their main or sole residence, whilst protecting public funds, so they can claim this support.

Energy: Government Assistance

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of providing an energy assistance payment to families who use lifesaving medical equipment at home.

Amanda Solloway: Officials from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero are working closely with a range of stakeholders to assess options for a new approach to consumer protection from April 2024 as part of wider retail market reforms and we intend to consult on these options in Summer 2023. As part of this work, we are working with disability organisations, considering the costs for disabled people with medical equipment and assessing the need for specific support for disabled people using medical equipment in the home.

Metals: Recycling

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the connectivity of metal recycling yards to the national energy grid.

Andrew Bowie: The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to release network capacity and improve the connections process, which will reduce timescales for all types of connections, including metal recycling yards. Building on this work, the Government and Ofgem will publish a connections action plan in the summer. Ofgem have also decided that electricity demand customers, such as metal recycling yards, submitting a connection application after 1 April 2023 will no longer be charged for any distribution network reinforcement costs to accommodate their connection, reducing the cost of connecting.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Artificial Intelligence

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.

Graham Stuart: As part of the AI regulation White Paper consultation, the Government is engaging with regulators to inform policy options. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero sponsors two regulators – the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) and the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). These organisations are not directly responsible for regulating AI and, to date, neither of these organisations has spent budget on the regulation of AI.

Department for Education

Childcare: Fees and Charges

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.163-4.166 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC 1183, published on 15 March 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of support for childcare costs on unpaid carers with dependant children.

Claire Coutinho: In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The reforms announced build on the department’s current early education entitlement offers, which include a universal 15 hour offer for all three and four-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances, the existing 30 hours offer for three and four-year-olds, and the 15 hour offer for disadvantaged two-year-olds. This latter offer includes low-income households and parents on certain benefits, as well as looked after children and children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.In addition to the entitlements, Tax-Free Childcare continues to be available to eligible parents. Tax-Free Childcare is available to parents who meet the same income criteria as the 30 hours offer and can be worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged 0 to 11, or up to £4,000 per year for disabled children aged 0 to 16.The 30 hours free childcare offer in England aims to support working families of three- and four-year-olds with the cost of childcare and to help parents back into work or work more hours. To be eligible for the 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum/Living Wage. This is equivalent to just over £8,670 per year, or £167 a week.Two-parent households may still be able to meet the criteria for 30 hours free childcare where one parent is working and meeting the above income criteria, and the other is receiving one of certain benefits, which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare?step-by-step-nav=f517cd57-3c18-4bb9-aa8b-1b907e279bf9. This includes unpaid carers receiving Carer’s Allowance.All three and four-year-olds are eligible for the 15 hour free entitlement, regardless of their parents’ circumstances. This includes unpaid carers. The offer is available the term after a child turns three and is available for 38 weeks a year during term time, or across more weeks of the year if fewer hours a week are used.

Home Education

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of access to curricular resources for home-educated children.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential benefits of waiving exam fees for home-educated children.

Nick Gibb: The Government supports the right for parents to choose to home educate their children. By electing to home educate, parents or guardians also accept full responsibility for their child’s education, including any costs associated with their education and exams.Some Local Authorities may provide assistance to home educating families, including for public examinations, but this is at their discretion.The Department has begun a voluntary, termly collection of data from Local Authorities on elective home education, including details of the types of support Local Authorities are able to offer families. Our existing guidance for Local Authorities on home education sets out examples of the types of additional support authorities can offer. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education.The Department knows that many Local Authorities offer help in accessing free or discounted resources and facilities for home educating families, such as signposting to local groups and library schemes, as well as to curriculum resources. Through continuing data analysis, the Department will build a better understanding of the support offered, problems faced in accessing support and where more assistance should be targeted.As part of its commitment to introducing statutory Local Authority registers for children not in school, the Department also remains committed to introducing a new duty on Local Authorities to provide support to home educating families, should they want it. This could, in theory, include examination support, as well as supporting parents to access curriculum resources. The Department will legislate for these Children Not in School measures at a suitable future opportunity to help Local Authorities to ensure that all children in their areas are receiving an appropriate education, regardless of where they are educated.

Schools: Finance

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of financial transparency arrangements for academy trusts and local authority maintained schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department requires a high level of accountability and transparency of academy trusts. Academy trusts’ status as companies, charities, and public sector bodies means they have a rigorous tri-partite framework. Individual trusts must publish their annual audited accounts online, including details of their objectives, achievements and future plans, and also set out what they have done to promote value for money in support of those objectives, as part of their annual report and accounts.The primary responsibility for the oversight of academy trusts rests with the trustees themselves, supported by clear financial management and governance requirements set by the Department in Academy Trusts’ Funding Agreements, the Academy Trust Handbook and Academies Accounts Direction. The Department expects academy trustees to deliver strong governance and monitor the financial health of their trust or school and ensure it remains a going concern. The transparency of finances in academy trusts enables the Department to identify problems quickly and intervene where required.Local Authorities are the accountable body for maintained schools and, in line with national frameworks and guidance set by the Department, they monitor and intervene in these schools to reduce the risk of financial failure or misuse of funds. Each Local Authority has a scheme for financing schools which sets out the financial relationship between it and its maintained schools, and the Department publishes guidance setting out what is required or permitted in schemes. Since 2019, the Department has implemented transparency measures across the maintained school sector similar to those in academies, in order to strengthen the arrangements for maintained schools.

Service Pupil Premium

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) adequacy of the amount of grants under and (b) the effectiveness of the Service Pupil Premium.

Nick Gibb: The Service Pupil Premium (SPP) was introduced in 2011 and provides state funded schools in England with additional funding to support the wellbeing and other education-related needs of children and young people aged 5 to16 from armed forces families. The value of the SPP has risen from £200 per eligible pupil in the 2011/12 financial year to £335 in the 2023/24 financial year. The number of eligible pupils has also increased over this period, from around 45,000 in 2011/12 to nearly 79,000 in 2023. This is due to the method of allocation progressively being able to record more former Service children, an increased willingness of Service parents/carers to inform their child’s school of their being in the armed forces, and demographic changes). The total amount of SPP funding allocated to schools is over £26 million in the current financial year, compared to £9 million in the 2011/12 financial year.Schools have flexibility over how they use the SPP, as they are best placed to understand and respond to the specific needs of their Service children. While the Department does not routinely monitor school SPP expenditure, we encourage schools to include details of how they use the funding when completing the mandatory reporting template for the disadvantage Pupil Premium. The Department intends to review a sample of these statements to identify and assess the principal ways in which schools are spending their SPP allocations.The Department and the Ministry of Defence also take account of feedback on school SPP expenditure provided by organisations that represent armed forces families and schools with Service children on roll, with a view to identifying and disseminating examples of the grant being used in effective ways.

Summer Schools: Finance

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding for the summer schools programme.

Nick Gibb: The Summer Schools programme was a demand-led initiative for summer 2021, as part of the £5 billion COVID-19 pandemic recovery response. The Summer Schools programme supported almost 340,000 pupils across 2,800 schools in England to access some of the fundamental teaching and enrichment activities that are vitally important to child development.The research findings for the summer schools programme, assessing the effectiveness of the programme, were published on 31 March 2022 and the report is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1065682/Summer_schools_research_final_report_March_2022.pdf.The research found that Department funding had been central in maximising the support that schools could offer to pupils in transitioning between primary and secondary.

Teachers: Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps has he taken to help ensure that teachers receive mental health support for (a) suicidal thoughts, (b) work related stress and (c) other mental health challenges.

Nick Gibb: All schools, including trusts, have a duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare, including work related stress, of their employees.Supporting the mental and physical health of education staff is crucial to the Department’s commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and to encourage teacher retention. The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, published by the Department, sets out commitments from Government, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. The Charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.Building on a successful pilot, the Department is funding the charity, Education Support, to provide professional supervision and counselling to head teachers and college leaders. Over 1,000 leaders have benefitted from the support so far. On 12 June 2023, the Department announced the expansion of the programme, by doubling the number of places available this year, so that more head teachers can have access to this valuable support. More information on the programme can be accessed at: https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/get-help/help-for-your-staff/wellbeing-services/school-and-fe-leaders-service/.Along with the publication of the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter on GOV.UK, the Department also signposts mental health and wellbeing resources for education staff. This includes Education Support’s free, confidential 24 hour helpline for staff working in education. Details for the helpline are available at: https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/get-help/help-for-you/helpline/.The Department is working proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind mental health and wellbeing issues, and to improve policies and interventions.

Suicide: Curriculum

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps has he taken to address suicide as part of the national curriculum.

Nick Gibb: Health education became a statutory part of the National Curriculum in September 2020 for all pupils in state funded schools of compulsory school age.The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.At primary school, pupils will learn to recognise and talk about their emotions, as well as the benefits of exercise and simple self care techniques. At secondary school, pupils will learn about common types of mental ill health and how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns. Schools can teach older pupils about suicide in an age appropriate and sensitive way.The Department has brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance, which will include working with a range of stakeholders and experts over the summer.

Schools: Uniforms

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had recent discussions with groups representing parents and guardians on schools requiring the purchase of uniforms directly from schools without the option of using retail providers.

Nick Gibb: The Department engaged with key stakeholders, including representatives of parents and guardians, ahead of the statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms being published in November 2021. In addition, in May 2022, the Department attended an online meeting with parents and schools organised by the Children’s Society.The guidance came into force in September 2022 and is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms.Schools must have regard to this guidance when they are developing and implementing their uniform policy. The guidance is clear that parents should be able to purchase generic items of uniform from a range of retailers, giving them choice and value for money.

Women and Equalities

Government Equalities Office: Artificial Intelligence

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.

Maria Caulfield: Cabinet Office’s Equality Hub sponsors the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). At the EHRC, between 20-25 people are spending part of their time considering how AI affects their area of focus. Excluding staffing costs, in the 2022-23, EHRC direct expenditure related to AI work was approximately £160k.AI is a priority for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is included in their strategic plan 2022 – 2025. The Commission is receiving a flat-cash settlement for 2023-2024, which, along with the wider public sector, means they will need to prioritise and will have limited flexibility within the year to increase resources available for work on AI.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Artificial Intelligence

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.

Dehenna Davison: We do not have a regulator of artificial intelligence associated with this Department.

Housing: Local Government

Mr Louie French: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of inner London local authorities placing their residents in temporary and permanent accommodation in outer London local authorities and neighbouring counties on those counties and local authorities.

Felicity Buchan: The latest homelessness statistics, which includes data on temporary accommodation placements out of borough, can be found here.Local authorities must ensure any temporary accommodation placement is suitable and should try to place individuals within their own area. If an authority places a household in temporary accommodation outside of the local area, this should be as a last resort and they should still try to place the household as near as possible to the original local authority.

Homelessness: Finance

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on the adequacy of funding for homeless charities and shelters.

Felicity Buchan: The Department has regular discussions with local authorities and voluntary organisations about their work to end rough sleeping.

Department for Work and Pensions

Poverty: Neuromuscular Disorders

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure people with (a) Parkinson's disease and (b) similar conditions do not suffer financial hardship due to increases in energy and living costs.

Tom Pursglove: The Government understands the pressures people, including those with Parkinson’s Disease and similar conditions, are facing with the cost of living. People living with Parkinson’s disease may be entitled to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is a contribution towards the extra costs associated with being disabled. PIP is paid tax free and can be worth up to £8,983 a year. Recipients are free to choose how they spend PIP, and there is no requirement for them to use it for any particular purpose. Entitlement to PIP depends on the effects that a disability or health condition has on a disabled person’s life, and not on a particular disability or diagnosis. PIP can passport to a range of additional support, including: Disability additions paid within income related benefits;Carer’s Allowance for an informal carer;The Motability vehicle scheme; andThe Blue Badge scheme. PIP also exempts the eligible household from the Benefit Cap. In April, we uprated benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, the Benefit Cap levels also increased by the same amount. In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments across the 2023/24 financial year, with the first payment of £301 having recently been made. A separate £150 payment will be made to individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits, including PIP, from 20 June. Further to this, the Energy Price Guarantee will be extended from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, meaning a typical household bill will be around £3,000 per year in Great Britain. The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows local authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The guidance for local authorities for this next iteration has now been published and can be found here: '1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England' - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The devolved administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June to Question 187674 on Personal Independence Payment: Appeals, what steps his Department is taking with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to reduce the number and proportion of Personal Independence Payment claims going to appeal.

Tom Pursglove: The department is committed to making the right decision as early as possible in the claims process. To support this, we have made improvements to decision-making at both the first decision, and the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, giving Decision Makers additional time to proactively contact claimants if they think additional evidence may support the claim. We are continuing to learn from decisions overturned at appeal. For example, we gather insight from Presenting Officers who regularly provide feedback from hearings they attend, with a view to learning from overturned decisions.

Employment: Chronic Illnesses and Disability

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support people with (a) disabilities and (b) long-term health conditions into work.

Tom Pursglove: A range of Government initiatives are supporting disabled people, and people with health conditions, including those with long-term health conditions, to start, stay, and succeed in work. These include: Increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres for people with health conditions receiving Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance;Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres offering advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work;The Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, providing tailored and personalised support for participants;Access to Work grants helping towards extra costs of working beyond standard reasonable adjustments;Disability Confident, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and health, and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace;An online information and advice service called “Support with Employee Health and Disability”, providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace;Increasing access to occupational health, including the testing of financial incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed; andWork in partnership between the DWP and health systems, including Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions.To tackle rising economic inactivity due to long-term sickness, we announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work. New investment will provide faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long term sickness.

Personal Independence Payment: Standards

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the average time it takes his Department to respond to enquiries about Personal Independence Payments.

Tom Pursglove: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has experienced unprecedented levels of new claims from customers in recent months and, as a result, we have seen increased call traffic. We are currently in the process of recruiting additional resource into telephony, so that we can increase the number of calls answered and reduce current wait times. The average speed of answer (ASA) for May was 40 minutes and 43 seconds - however, this may vary at different times of the day. The average speed of answer (ASA) figures relate to the enquiries line only and does not impact customers being able to make new claims or raise a dispute. Additional information: ASA from January 2023 – May 2023 is as follows: JanFebMarchAprilMayAverage Speed of Answer (ASA)00:25:1400:34:5000:40:2200:43:5900:40:43